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Scroll of Agony: The Warsaw Diary of Chaim A. Kaplan
"A precious record of Jewish life under Nazi rule." —New York Review of Books "Not only the material for history; it is history itself, agonizingly, triumphantly alive." —Saturday Review Warsaw resident Chaim Kaplan’s journal begins on September 1, 1939, the day the Nazi blitzkrieg stunned the world—the Jews of Poland most of all. It ends in August 1942, when Kaplan realized that the Nazi noose was around his neck. Today Kaplan’s diary stands as an extraordinary record of the Nazi destruction of Warsaw's Jewish community. It is as timely as ever.
416 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 11, 2013
A Searing Account of Life in the Warsaw Ghetto
None of the Holocaust diaries make for easy reading. Of these painful eyewitness accounts, perhaps none is more searing than that of Chaim Aaron Kaplan, the one-time principal of a Hebrew school in Warsaw until his academy was shut down and banned by the Nazis and Kaplan banished to that city’s notorious Ghetto. Appalled at “the destruction and ruin that the enemy’s planes have wrought on our lovely capital,” Chaim Kaplan declared early on, “I have made a role for myself in these historic times not to let a single day go by without making an entry in my diary,” that is, to bear witness and document first-hand the suffering of his fellow Jews and the abominable cruelty if the Nazi oppressor, even when “…it is hard to hold a pen in my hand.” Despite indescribable hardships, he added accounts to his dairy nearly every day, continually augmenting his “scroll of agony.”
Chaim Kaplan portrayed daily scenes with uncompromising clarity, using suitably strong language that does not detract from the erudition and eloquence of his writing. Kaplan obviously kept well informed of what was happening, either by reading illegal underground newspapers or “reading between the lines” of the articles printed in the Nazi-sanctioned press that served primarily as a tool of propaganda. That Chaim Kaplan was able to maintain such a high standard of writing in utterly appalling conditions is remarkable, all the more so as he did not have the chance to edit or revise his work. “My words are not rewritten; momentary reflexes shape them. Perhaps their value lies in this,” he write on January 16, 1942. Chaim Kaplan wrote alone, keeping his diary secret; though he was a somewhat of a loner, he had many informants. However, it was his dairy that offered Kaplan hope for the future and comfort for the immediate times he need it most. “This journal is my life, my friend, and ally,” he wrote on November 13, 1941. “I pour my innermost thoughts and feelings into it, and this brings me relief. When my nerves are taught and my blood is boiling, than I am full of bitterness. In my helplessness, I drag myself to my diary and at once I am enveloped by a wave of creative inspiration, although I doubt whether the recording that occupies me deserves to be called creative .… The important thing is that in keeping this diary, I find spiritual rest. That is enough for me.” Anyone reading this book would say that Kaplan was being modest; the writing is of very high quality, indeed.
Kaplan chronicled the occupation of Warsaw, from the earliest days after the invasion though August 1942, during the time of the great liquidations. Chaim Kaplan knew that his chances of survival were slim. However, he often expressed an optimism that “Hitlerian Nazism will ultimately be defeated, for in the end, the civilized nations will rise up to defend the liberty which the German barbarians seek to steal from mankind.” And, in our good fortune, Chaim Kaplan’s masterful diary, too, would survive to tell all about it.
None of the Holocaust diaries make for easy reading. Of these painful eyewitness accounts, perhaps none is more searing than that of Chaim Aaron Kaplan, the one-time principal of a Hebrew school in Warsaw until his academy was shut down and banned by the Nazis and Kaplan banished to that city’s notorious Ghetto. Appalled at “the destruction and ruin that the enemy’s planes have wrought on our lovely capital,” Chaim Kaplan declared early on, “I have made a role for myself in these historic times not to let a single day go by without making an entry in my diary,” that is, to bear witness and document first-hand the suffering of his fellow Jews and the abominable cruelty if the Nazi oppressor, even when “…it is hard to hold a pen in my hand.” Despite indescribable hardships, he added accounts to his dairy nearly every day, continually augmenting his “scroll of agony.”
Chaim Kaplan portrayed daily scenes with uncompromising clarity, using suitably strong language that does not detract from the erudition and eloquence of his writing. Kaplan obviously kept well informed of what was happening, either by reading illegal underground newspapers or “reading between the lines” of the articles printed in the Nazi-sanctioned press that served primarily as a tool of propaganda. That Chaim Kaplan was able to maintain such a high standard of writing in utterly appalling conditions is remarkable, all the more so as he did not have the chance to edit or revise his work. “My words are not rewritten; momentary reflexes shape them. Perhaps their value lies in this,” he write on January 16, 1942. Chaim Kaplan wrote alone, keeping his diary secret; though he was a somewhat of a loner, he had many informants. However, it was his dairy that offered Kaplan hope for the future and comfort for the immediate times he need it most. “This journal is my life, my friend, and ally,” he wrote on November 13, 1941. “I pour my innermost thoughts and feelings into it, and this brings me relief. When my nerves are taught and my blood is boiling, than I am full of bitterness. In my helplessness, I drag myself to my diary and at once I am enveloped by a wave of creative inspiration, although I doubt whether the recording that occupies me deserves to be called creative .… The important thing is that in keeping this diary, I find spiritual rest. That is enough for me.” Anyone reading this book would say that Kaplan was being modest; the writing is of very high quality, indeed.
Kaplan chronicled the occupation of Warsaw, from the earliest days after the invasion though August 1942, during the time of the great liquidations. Chaim Kaplan knew that his chances of survival were slim. However, he often expressed an optimism that “Hitlerian Nazism will ultimately be defeated, for in the end, the civilized nations will rise up to defend the liberty which the German barbarians seek to steal from mankind.” And, in our good fortune, Chaim Kaplan’s masterful diary, too, would survive to tell all about it.
June 22, 2018
Harrowing, great. Your efforts were not wasted Mr Kaplan, your diary made it. Thank you.
December 30, 2019
Ciekawy zapis losów syjonistycznego pedagoga i publicysty, dyrektora prywatnej szkoły w 1939 r. Na szczególną uwagę oczywiście zasługują te z początków okupacji, gdy syjoniści na złość okupantowi czuli dumę z tego, że mogli afiszować swoją przynależność narodową, patrząc z pogardą na asymilatorów. Kaplan dobrze przewiduje los, który czeka niedługo żydowską społeczność, wpisując go w los biblijnych Żydów, mówi choćby o gazach bojowych, którymi mogą zostać potraktowani, pisze także o tym jak szybko został wykopany, a właściwie poszerzony dół między społeczeństwem polskim i żydowskim już w pierwszych dniach okupacji.
April 25, 2018
This is a very intellectual and impersonal chronicle of the life in the Warsaw Ghetto. There's very little personal detail, very little mention of day to day detail. The author concerns himself with the news stories, the rumours. Thus about 80% of his writing is about the Nazis. It's understandable he should give such constant vent to his horror and indignation at the stories he hears but we are all familiar with the murderous machinery of the Nazis so even though he has a great turn of phrase at times we're reading about things we already know about. For someone, like me, looking for a detailed account of personal life within the Ghetto this journal offers few insights. I suspect there are more vividly intimate accounts of life in the Warsaw Ghetto out there.
December 4, 2017
"Scroll of Agony" is a very appropriate title. It is agonising to read but as the author himself states, this diary is "source material for the future historian。" (Jan 16, 1942)
I have read a few holocaust memoirs but this has a different feel, a very heavy tone. I think it is because it is a diary and not a survival account and it is peppered with biblical allusions. Here we see details, fears, small joys, the vacillation between hope and despair. I felt somewhat as if I was there in that in between reading sessions I could not stop thinking about it.
I really liked the way the writer used biblical expressions and also that he does not worry about who is going to get offended so he lets rip at everyone (and who can blame him).
I don't know how widely this book is read but I wish it would be read by every human being. According to Jewish Virtual library.org it has been translated into English, French, German, Danish and Japanese. What, no Polish (it was written btw in Hebrew)? I wish the young generation of Poles would never ever forget what took place upon their soil and not stop shouting it from the rooftops.
I have read a few holocaust memoirs but this has a different feel, a very heavy tone. I think it is because it is a diary and not a survival account and it is peppered with biblical allusions. Here we see details, fears, small joys, the vacillation between hope and despair. I felt somewhat as if I was there in that in between reading sessions I could not stop thinking about it.
I really liked the way the writer used biblical expressions and also that he does not worry about who is going to get offended so he lets rip at everyone (and who can blame him).
I don't know how widely this book is read but I wish it would be read by every human being. According to Jewish Virtual library.org it has been translated into English, French, German, Danish and Japanese. What, no Polish (it was written btw in Hebrew)? I wish the young generation of Poles would never ever forget what took place upon their soil and not stop shouting it from the rooftops.
January 20, 2020
"Scroll of Agony" by Chaim Kaplan (1999, 416 pages).
"Kaplan writes of the horror of life in the Warsaw Ghetto with riveting precision and amazing prescience. His stark eloquence leaves the reader breathless as the victims must have felt from the merciless oppressor's ever tightening yoke. With the author's death so too dies a part of us knowing of the countless dreams, loves, lives and culture lost to this most tragic event in world history.
All of the diaries left from this period offer truly valued insights; Scroll of Agony is distinguished though by the ability of C.K. to record his words with depth and a clear & striking artistic expression under the most excruciating conditions imaginable."
By Edward Janes
"Kaplan writes of the horror of life in the Warsaw Ghetto with riveting precision and amazing prescience. His stark eloquence leaves the reader breathless as the victims must have felt from the merciless oppressor's ever tightening yoke. With the author's death so too dies a part of us knowing of the countless dreams, loves, lives and culture lost to this most tragic event in world history.
All of the diaries left from this period offer truly valued insights; Scroll of Agony is distinguished though by the ability of C.K. to record his words with depth and a clear & striking artistic expression under the most excruciating conditions imaginable."
By Edward Janes
January 13, 2025
heartbreaking. it’s as if you’re reading the light from someone’s soul, and the light of an entire community, slowly being snuffed out. beautifully written, though, and by a highly educated person striving to record all that he has learned.
the last few dozen pages are hard to read. the sense of despair is palpable and ever increasing, and it ends abruptly with the murder of the author, and no justice for all the dead who’ve been recorded.
the last few dozen pages are hard to read. the sense of despair is palpable and ever increasing, and it ends abruptly with the murder of the author, and no justice for all the dead who’ve been recorded.
November 9, 2024
The diary of Chaim Kaplan is one of the best diaries of the Poland WW2 period. It’s a piece of history. I’m glad that his wish for his life’s work came true.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews